FAYETTEVILLE — Arm in arm they marched on the field with a single goal, a united band of players from a basketball conference in disarray, under a new coach, playing its third road game of the year.
The Scarlet Knights of Rutgers, a member of the battered Big East, wanted to prove they were at least as good as a Sun Belt team and could beat the Arkansas Razorbacks on their home field.
Their way is supposed to be with defense. Get to the quarterback. Rack him and sack him. And on the first play of the game, they did. Then the Hogs settled down and got a 37-yard field goal from Zach Hocker.
On their last possession of the first quarter the Hogs struck quickly after a Knile Davis run set up a 57-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Wilson to Cobi Hamilton.
Rutgers looked lost. Like it had taken a wrong turn on the football freeway.
That changed fast. After allowing no first downs, 18 yards and no points in the second quarter, Rutgers went into intermission leading 14-10.
Spirits seemed to be dropping almost as fast as the temperature, and it was getting cold in a hurry. It is not a matter of loyalty for the fans, just a truckload of disappointment.
However, the majority of the 72,533 dug in and Wilson and Hamilton fireworks were worth it.
Rutgers had made adjustments on the fly, taking away Arkansas’ crossing patterns and still holding down the run. The Hogs made offensive adjustments at the half. Never mind about the defense.
The Hogs practically shut down running back Jawan Jamison, so Rutgers just rocked and fired and moved the ball through the air, easily, which the Hogs struggled to defend again. By the time it was 35-26, Rutgers had 397 yards in the air and more than 500 yards of total offense.
It was like Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova was an SEC quarterback, or one from the Sun Belt.
On the opening kickoff of the third quarter, he drove his team 75 yards — 65 of it through the air — for a 21-10 lead against a defense that was trying to adjust, but it was like holding water in your hands.
At that point, those hot summer dreams of a trip to Miami for the BCS championship game were becoming major concerns about whether postseason play was in the Hogs’ future.
Remember, it doesn’t get easier. Like Louisiana-Monroe, Rutgers was expected to be a victory.
The Hogs aren’t playing Dennis Johnson enough and are predictable on third down. Of their first nine third downs, they passed on eight.
The Hogs had to settle for a field goal after passes of 17 and 29 yards to Hamilton. There is no doubt their offense is going to have to help their defense by scoring touchdowns.
Rutgers made it 28-13 as Nova passed for 58 yards on the 75-yard drive, including a 45-yarder.
Wilson then delivered twice with touchdown passes of 10 and 80 yards to Hamilton, who set an SEC record for receiving yards in a game with 303, and with 12:36 left to play the Hogs Nation had hope.
When the Scarlet Knights missed a 32-yard field goal, the fans were on their feet and praying for a happening in the hills.
A 60-yard pass by Nova made it 35-26 — the Hogs had failed on a two-point conversion attempt — and while the lighter crowd was just as enthusiastic, it was not meant to be.
Wilson, who passed for more than 400 yards, couldn’t put up as many points as the defense allowed.
A defense that lost out on a safety with six minutes to play because of missed tackles.
The 1-3 start is Arkansas’ worst since 1996, Danny Ford’s next-to-last season, and that included a loss when the Hogs scored a touchdown against SMU and didn’t know it.
It is not that bad, although the white helmets were as a 61-year tradition of red helmets came to an end.
Sports, Pages 25 on 09/23/2012